Friday, 16 December 2005

Have you ever had the experience of scrambling to catch up in one (or more!) areas of your life? You’re trying so hard to catch up that all you are focussing on is the goal and your sights are so far ahead of you that you have lost sight of the present. You slave and scramble, cry and rail against life and try to keep from sinking under the weight of uncompleted tasks.

Then suddenly one day as you look ahead to where you need to be, you notice that somehow, somewhere along the line you passed yourself. How is that possible? How could you not notice?

Human beings can get so focussed on what we need to do that it is like we are wearing blinders which block out everything around us. While it is good to be able to focus and get the job done, we need to balance that focus with time spent enjoying the fun things in life. All work and no play or relaxation makes us not only dull, but sick, out of sorts and miserable souls to be around.

So whether you are still scrambling up a huge mountain of to-do’s, whether you are almost at the top of the mountain, or whether you’ve reached the top and are basking in the glow of accomplishment, don’t forget to take time to enjoy the upcoming holiday festivity preparations. Don’t get so focussed on what you think needs done, that you forget the people around you and the fun activities that you can attend. Take a break from your routine to restore your soul. Enjoy the present moment without fretting over what you can’t change from the past or can’t predict for the future. Relax with a warm mug of hot chocolate and have a wonderfully relaxing Christmas!

Friday, 2 December 2005

Once upon a time, not so long ago, nor so far away there was a principality which was governed by a ruler who was both very wise and yet very foolish. The ruler was exceedingly wise when following the advice of the wise advisors, and incredibly foolish when following the advice of the foolish advisors.

Unfortunately, the subjects of this principality never knew from day to day whether the ruler would act wisely, or foolishly. Tensions ran high and tempers were short all around. Even the various advisors didn’t always know which one would be favoured that day to offer advice to the ruler...the wise or the foolish.

One day a stranger arrived at the ruler’s home and requested entrance. Unbeknownst to anyone there, the stranger was the wisest and most knowledgeable advisor the previous rulers had ever had. The stranger only appeared when the foolish were prevailing.

The stranger was granted entrance and given food to eat. Whilst he was partaking of his repast he observed the way the ruler interacted with the various advisors. He noticed that the ruler tended to favour the foolish ones, ignoring the wise ones, yet acting like the opposite was true. Thus, the reality was that the wise advisors were not asked for their advice and input. The stranger found the situation to be most unique as he’d heard about the wisdom of the ruler in ages past.

Each day was a recurrence of the day before during the entire week. The foolish advisors were favoured over the wise ones. Thus the poor subjects were repeated victims of extreme foolish acts and proclamations.

The stranger knew the situation was bleak for all, and that something needed to be done to transform the principality so it could thrive again. He observed the situation for another week whilst he devised of a means to reveal to all what was really going on so that they could silence the foolish advisors, and allow the wise advisors to assist the ruler to restore order to the principality.

Finally the scribe stood up one day and addressed the ruler, advisors, and subjects with these words…